Gotta love this picture. Two great men, rebellious in their own ways, yet used by God in powerful ways. 
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Some creation humor
Thought this might lighten things up a bit as we talk about God the creator...enjoy.
Salad bar theology
This Sunday we'll start a 13 week series on "Difficult Bible passages." Often it's tempting to have a "salad bar theology" as we read the Bible, that is picking and choosing what we like and don't like, want to believe and not believe. Sorry to disappoint some of you, but it doesn't work that way. Sure there may be passages of the Bible we don't like or don't understand, but we can't just dismiss them as "no longer applicable to today." God has a reason and a purpose for everything written in the Bible. A wise approach to the scriptures is to try and see God's character through an event or story that may make no sense to you.
This Sunday we'll review the creation account in Genesis 1-2:4. As I discussed this with Darren we agreed that if you don't believe in a God who has existed for ever, created the world and everything in it, then you'll for sure have difficulties with many Bible passages that follow. Foundational to our understanding of the entire Bible is the creation account, how it all started.
I pray that the introduction to our summer series this Sunday will lay that foundation that opens our minds to how God has worked throughout history.
It dawned on me the other day that many church going Christians want to debate certain passages from the Bible, yet have no problem coming to church on Easter and Christmas. Seems like everybody likes to go to church on these holidays...and yet we are teaching straight from the Bible that Jesus was born of a virgin and then later died and was resurrected. Wow! That's amazing. See what I'm saying? If you can believe that, then have faith that God will show you some keen insights into these scriptures we look at this summer.
This Sunday we'll review the creation account in Genesis 1-2:4. As I discussed this with Darren we agreed that if you don't believe in a God who has existed for ever, created the world and everything in it, then you'll for sure have difficulties with many Bible passages that follow. Foundational to our understanding of the entire Bible is the creation account, how it all started.
I pray that the introduction to our summer series this Sunday will lay that foundation that opens our minds to how God has worked throughout history.
It dawned on me the other day that many church going Christians want to debate certain passages from the Bible, yet have no problem coming to church on Easter and Christmas. Seems like everybody likes to go to church on these holidays...and yet we are teaching straight from the Bible that Jesus was born of a virgin and then later died and was resurrected. Wow! That's amazing. See what I'm saying? If you can believe that, then have faith that God will show you some keen insights into these scriptures we look at this summer.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
A Mormon president?
So what happens if Mitt Romney becomes our next president? Will we be forced to read the book of Mormon? Coerced into wearing special secret underwear? Will the Mormon church finally let us mere mortals enter into the most secret places of their immaculate temple in La Jolla?
My answer is no, no and no. It will be interesting to see how this election turns out. No matter who gets elected, God is still in charge. Throughout history God has allowed outright wicked men to rule over his people. God doesn't just hand over the keys to running a particular country with no restrictions. It may seem like chaos (even now with the mess that is the Iraq war) but God has not abandoned us.
So what is the average tax-paying citizen to do? Pray. The Bible cleary tells us to pray continually (1 Thess. 5:17). I'm praying even now before we actually get a new president. As a family, we pray for our president, governor, mayor and city council. God can move in anyones heart, so let's continue to pray for our elected officials.
My answer is no, no and no. It will be interesting to see how this election turns out. No matter who gets elected, God is still in charge. Throughout history God has allowed outright wicked men to rule over his people. God doesn't just hand over the keys to running a particular country with no restrictions. It may seem like chaos (even now with the mess that is the Iraq war) but God has not abandoned us.
So what is the average tax-paying citizen to do? Pray. The Bible cleary tells us to pray continually (1 Thess. 5:17). I'm praying even now before we actually get a new president. As a family, we pray for our president, governor, mayor and city council. God can move in anyones heart, so let's continue to pray for our elected officials.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Does prayer change God's mind?
On Sunday I preached on the Biblical perspective on prayer. We covered all the basics, prayer posture, pray language, humility, seeking God's will, not ours etc. When I asked for feedback, the topic of praying to change God's mind came up. On one hand there are references in the Bible where it seems as if God changes his mind. Yet if we believe in God's omniscience then it was no surprise to him that the events turned out the way they did.
Prayer is a weird thing to me. No doubt we are told to pray throughout the Bible. I pray all the time. In reality, when I pray I'm just trying to get in line with what God wants to do in my life as well as those I pray for. So, I don't think I change God's mind with my prayers. I still believe we are daily learning how to fit in with God's master plan, yet with the hard-to-understand balance of the ability to make our own choices in the midst of that grand plan.
Once again my core theology, "God/mystery/wonder" rings true.
Prayer is a weird thing to me. No doubt we are told to pray throughout the Bible. I pray all the time. In reality, when I pray I'm just trying to get in line with what God wants to do in my life as well as those I pray for. So, I don't think I change God's mind with my prayers. I still believe we are daily learning how to fit in with God's master plan, yet with the hard-to-understand balance of the ability to make our own choices in the midst of that grand plan.
Once again my core theology, "God/mystery/wonder" rings true.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Jerry Falwell part 2
It's been interesting watching the media cover the death of Jerry Falwell. I watched a great show on Larry King the other night. They interviewed the likes of Larry Flint, James D0bson, Rev. Al Sharpton and Ralph Reed. Larry King also interviewed the guy who ghost wrote two books for Jerry Falwell and is today an outspoken gay. (I believe his last name is Winter.)
None of them really had anything bad to say about Mr. Falwell. They all may not have agreed with him, but did agree on the fact that at least he was willing to speak his mind. I believe that Jerry Falwell was actually Biblically correct with his convictions and theology, he just may not have spoken those convictions in the most loving way.
Hopefully the media coverage will cause people to dig deeper into the issues Mr. Falwell pushed for and come to their own convictions from a Biblical standpoint.
That is always the challenge and quest of every Christian, to read the Bible for themselves and let God speak to them individually to form their convictions.
None of them really had anything bad to say about Mr. Falwell. They all may not have agreed with him, but did agree on the fact that at least he was willing to speak his mind. I believe that Jerry Falwell was actually Biblically correct with his convictions and theology, he just may not have spoken those convictions in the most loving way.
Hopefully the media coverage will cause people to dig deeper into the issues Mr. Falwell pushed for and come to their own convictions from a Biblical standpoint.
That is always the challenge and quest of every Christian, to read the Bible for themselves and let God speak to them individually to form their convictions.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
“The death of Jerry Falwell, man of God or embarrassment to the Christian faith?”
With today's death of Jerry Falwell, expect a rush of media driven stories. For a larger than life figure like Mr. Falwell, you can count on seemingly endless stories on his life, showing the good and the bad.
There are times I wish I was a famous Christian (although I still hold to the thought that "famous Christian" is an oxymoron). If I let my ego creep in (like the ring in Lord of the Rings or the dark costume in Spiderman 3) then I find myself craving the attention of millions.
Then I watch a review of Jerry Falwells life (I've already seen one online) and I cringe. Not that Jerry Falwell did all bad. He did plenty of great things for the kingdom of God in his time. However, I can almost bet he'll be remembered more for some of his verbal blunders over the years. God bless Jerry Falwell and his family as he is now in the Lord's presence!
The public stage of the Christian life is not an easy mantle to wear. It's only by God's grace that on my very little stage at Coastlands Church I haven't slandered the name of God yet. It is so tempting to give the "Evan Lauer translation" of the Bible when I'm either preaching or counseling. I've done it a few times and paid dearly for it.
As I often pray before I preach on Sunday's, "Please God, don't let me get in the way of anything you want to say today."
Godspeed my friends,
Evan
There are times I wish I was a famous Christian (although I still hold to the thought that "famous Christian" is an oxymoron). If I let my ego creep in (like the ring in Lord of the Rings or the dark costume in Spiderman 3) then I find myself craving the attention of millions.
Then I watch a review of Jerry Falwells life (I've already seen one online) and I cringe. Not that Jerry Falwell did all bad. He did plenty of great things for the kingdom of God in his time. However, I can almost bet he'll be remembered more for some of his verbal blunders over the years. God bless Jerry Falwell and his family as he is now in the Lord's presence!
The public stage of the Christian life is not an easy mantle to wear. It's only by God's grace that on my very little stage at Coastlands Church I haven't slandered the name of God yet. It is so tempting to give the "Evan Lauer translation" of the Bible when I'm either preaching or counseling. I've done it a few times and paid dearly for it.
As I often pray before I preach on Sunday's, "Please God, don't let me get in the way of anything you want to say today."
Godspeed my friends,
Evan
Good thoughts on last weeks debate
(I actually had some of these thoughts myself. It would've been nice to see a Ravi Zacharias, Lee Strobel or Josh McDowell put those angry atheists a little more in their place.)
NEW YORK - Believers around the United States have been voicing their concerns over a recent televised debate held between two Christian evangelists and two atheist activists.
Many have been questioning the judgment of the two Christian representatives, New Zealand evangelist Ray Comfort and 90s television star Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains), to debate over the existence of God on ABC this past Wednesday. And most have agreed that the two were not prepared well enough to be a part of the apologetics discussion.
“Now, I’m not questioning the integrity or complete ministry of Comfort, Cameron or The Way of the Master (their ministry),” responded Marty Duren, pastor of New Bethany Baptist Church of Buford, Ga. “I’ll assume that they are genuine Christ followers with pure motives. I’ll also assume that The Way of the Master is a helpful, biblical approach to sharing Christ. But, they got completely shellacked in this one.”
The debate in argument was recently posted on the ABC News website under the title “Does God Exist.” Individuals involved in the dialogue were Comfort, Cameron, and the two atheists behind the controversial “Blasphemy Challenge” – a campaign on YouTube that encourages youth to denounce the Holy Spirit and “damn themselves to hell.” The two atheists, Brian Sapient and Kelly (no surname), are part of a group they created called the Rational Response Squad.
When the debate was first announced, numerous Christians came out to show their approval, happy to see that there would be a chance for Christians to gain exposure on television and possibly convince people of the existence of God.
After seeing the representatives that would be debating on the Christian side, however, many of them expressed their frustration, feeling that other apologists would have argued God more effectively than the two evangelists, such as William Lane Craig, Ravi Zacharias, Phillip Johnson, Michael Behe, Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, William Dembski, or Emir Caner.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad this debate is going on,” explained Bill Latronica, a Christian blogger from California, prior to the debate. “Too many times atheists are made to look like giant intellectuals while Theists are made to look like feeble, pathetic morons. We need people who are educated in philosophy and science as well as theology to be able to represent Theists in a powerful manner.
“If I agree with all of the above, then why am I not sure that this public debate is a good idea?” he added. “I just hope we Theists do not get the rug pulled out from under us by unqualified people.”
The biggest concern that Christians cited over the debate was the preparedness that Comfort and Cameron, humorously nicknamed the “Killer C’s,” had going into the debate. They felt that the two had not done their homework on the atheists, and should have known where the nonbelievers would have attacked their models. Instead, some Christians felt that the evangelists, neither of which are known to hold theological degrees, had only used their predictable evangelistic methods and had no backup plan.
“I’ll be the first to say that I might not have done any better,” wrote Duren, “but I’m also not the one who threw down the gauntlet for a public debate.”
Several people have critiqued Cameron’s performance at the debate as well. During the discussion, the former television star tried to prove the existence of God by disproving the theory of evolution. Christians have been split in their responses to this; some saying that refuting evolution in no way shows anything while others support his position.
On a positive note, most Christian responses to the debate applauded Comfort and Cameron’s positive demeanor at the debate while the atheists were argued to be “hecklers.”
“Stylistically, Mr. Cameron knocked the ball out of the park. He came across as likable, articulate, and sincere,” commented Michael Patrick Leahy, author of Letter to an Atheist. “The atheist opponents mumbled responses, filled with ‘ums’ and ‘you knows,’ and delivered their ‘zingers’ with such obvious looks of intellectual contempt for Cameron and Comfort it was cringe inducing.”
Those that have viewed the program also have criticized the moderator of the program, Martin Bashir, as being biased towards the atheist side.
While many have disagreed with Comfort and Cameron’s appearance on the debate, they have mostly supported the two’s courage in taking on the atheists and trying to expose God to a wider population. They just wish that the two had used better judgment.
“If followers of Christ are going to be able to give an answer concerning the hope that lies within us, then we should recognize that witnessing to someone on Muscle Beach or a busy New York street might require only the use of our personal story of salvation,” concluded Duren, “but for those in the ‘professional doubter’ category, it will require more of us than a scant knowledge of the Enemy’s play book. I truly hope that Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron learn that sooner rather than later, especially if they intend to do more of this.”
NEW YORK - Believers around the United States have been voicing their concerns over a recent televised debate held between two Christian evangelists and two atheist activists.
Many have been questioning the judgment of the two Christian representatives, New Zealand evangelist Ray Comfort and 90s television star Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains), to debate over the existence of God on ABC this past Wednesday. And most have agreed that the two were not prepared well enough to be a part of the apologetics discussion.
“Now, I’m not questioning the integrity or complete ministry of Comfort, Cameron or The Way of the Master (their ministry),” responded Marty Duren, pastor of New Bethany Baptist Church of Buford, Ga. “I’ll assume that they are genuine Christ followers with pure motives. I’ll also assume that The Way of the Master is a helpful, biblical approach to sharing Christ. But, they got completely shellacked in this one.”
The debate in argument was recently posted on the ABC News website under the title “Does God Exist.” Individuals involved in the dialogue were Comfort, Cameron, and the two atheists behind the controversial “Blasphemy Challenge” – a campaign on YouTube that encourages youth to denounce the Holy Spirit and “damn themselves to hell.” The two atheists, Brian Sapient and Kelly (no surname), are part of a group they created called the Rational Response Squad.
When the debate was first announced, numerous Christians came out to show their approval, happy to see that there would be a chance for Christians to gain exposure on television and possibly convince people of the existence of God.
After seeing the representatives that would be debating on the Christian side, however, many of them expressed their frustration, feeling that other apologists would have argued God more effectively than the two evangelists, such as William Lane Craig, Ravi Zacharias, Phillip Johnson, Michael Behe, Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, William Dembski, or Emir Caner.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad this debate is going on,” explained Bill Latronica, a Christian blogger from California, prior to the debate. “Too many times atheists are made to look like giant intellectuals while Theists are made to look like feeble, pathetic morons. We need people who are educated in philosophy and science as well as theology to be able to represent Theists in a powerful manner.
“If I agree with all of the above, then why am I not sure that this public debate is a good idea?” he added. “I just hope we Theists do not get the rug pulled out from under us by unqualified people.”
The biggest concern that Christians cited over the debate was the preparedness that Comfort and Cameron, humorously nicknamed the “Killer C’s,” had going into the debate. They felt that the two had not done their homework on the atheists, and should have known where the nonbelievers would have attacked their models. Instead, some Christians felt that the evangelists, neither of which are known to hold theological degrees, had only used their predictable evangelistic methods and had no backup plan.
“I’ll be the first to say that I might not have done any better,” wrote Duren, “but I’m also not the one who threw down the gauntlet for a public debate.”
Several people have critiqued Cameron’s performance at the debate as well. During the discussion, the former television star tried to prove the existence of God by disproving the theory of evolution. Christians have been split in their responses to this; some saying that refuting evolution in no way shows anything while others support his position.
On a positive note, most Christian responses to the debate applauded Comfort and Cameron’s positive demeanor at the debate while the atheists were argued to be “hecklers.”
“Stylistically, Mr. Cameron knocked the ball out of the park. He came across as likable, articulate, and sincere,” commented Michael Patrick Leahy, author of Letter to an Atheist. “The atheist opponents mumbled responses, filled with ‘ums’ and ‘you knows,’ and delivered their ‘zingers’ with such obvious looks of intellectual contempt for Cameron and Comfort it was cringe inducing.”
Those that have viewed the program also have criticized the moderator of the program, Martin Bashir, as being biased towards the atheist side.
While many have disagreed with Comfort and Cameron’s appearance on the debate, they have mostly supported the two’s courage in taking on the atheists and trying to expose God to a wider population. They just wish that the two had used better judgment.
“If followers of Christ are going to be able to give an answer concerning the hope that lies within us, then we should recognize that witnessing to someone on Muscle Beach or a busy New York street might require only the use of our personal story of salvation,” concluded Duren, “but for those in the ‘professional doubter’ category, it will require more of us than a scant knowledge of the Enemy’s play book. I truly hope that Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron learn that sooner rather than later, especially if they intend to do more of this.”
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Those angry atheists
I got an email today from my friend Jon that had a link to a very interesting Nightline show on NBC. It features Kirk Cameron & Ray Comfort debating the existence of God with a couple of atheists. The two atheists are the people behind the blasphemy challenge website.
It may be disturbing for those who are not secure in your faith, yet I believe it is worth the watch. It will help you as you think through why you believe in God. You can check out the show at http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline There is a lot there so watch whatever clips you have time for.
I personally found it interesting how the atheists tend to be angry at God, religion, and faith in general. Especially since they both claim to be former Christians! Anger seems to be a main driving force behind the atheist movement. I pray that is never our motivation as we do our best to communicate the love of Jesus.
I'd love to hear some of your feedback when you have time.
You may also want to check out this article for a good rebuttle to the atheists claims:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2007/002/1.21.html
Godspeed my friends,
Evan
It may be disturbing for those who are not secure in your faith, yet I believe it is worth the watch. It will help you as you think through why you believe in God. You can check out the show at http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline There is a lot there so watch whatever clips you have time for.
I personally found it interesting how the atheists tend to be angry at God, religion, and faith in general. Especially since they both claim to be former Christians! Anger seems to be a main driving force behind the atheist movement. I pray that is never our motivation as we do our best to communicate the love of Jesus.
I'd love to hear some of your feedback when you have time.
You may also want to check out this article for a good rebuttle to the atheists claims:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2007/002/1.21.html
Godspeed my friends,
Evan
Lets try this again...
I'd like to get back to using blogspot for my blog site. I was having trouble before accessing it, but it seemed to work fine today. Blogspot is more simple and without all those ridiculous ads on the side for Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson etc. Yeah, that's just what I need...
So, here we go. Hopefully I can use blogspot from here on out.
So, here we go. Hopefully I can use blogspot from here on out.
Spiderman theology
The Bible clearly speaks of God's handiwork found throughout creation. As the author of our universe, can speak to us in numerous ways. Obviously, his voice is most easily heard through the Bible, but I consider it an exciting part of my life to find God in other places too. It is especially fun to find God in the movies.
Spiderman 3 came out last weekend. I was tempted to see the midnight show on May 3rd, but was having a hard time imagining being able to function well the next day on 4 hours of sleep. I was anxious to see the movie in IMAX for the first time, but unbeknownst to me, there are even greater Spiderman fans out there who bought up all the tickets to the IMAX shows...all day, every show! I settled for a "regular" ticket and throughly enjoyed the show.
A main theme throughout this movie is Spidermans wrestling with the dark side of his costume. It is an easy analogy to the sin nature that we fight all the time. The lure of the dark side is tempting and fun. There is always a price to pay however, and even Spiderman realizes that. As the movie progresses, Peter Parker learns about forgiveness and making right choices.
Without giving too much away, I found it interesting that when Spiderman finally realizes that the dark side of his costume has begun to consume as well as tempt him, he finds release from that struggle in a church. The scene opens with a close up of a cross and Spidey stuck to the side of the steeple. He eventually wrestles free from the black costume, (and oh what a struggle it is, sound familiar?) comes to his senses and starts to makes the right choices.
Was director Sam Raimi intentional with his "theology"? I'm not sure, but I do find it interesting that when the whole good vs. evil is shown in a movie, often it ties in with Christian sub-themes. Enjoy the show if you get a chance to see it and let me know what you think!
espidey (in case you didn't get it from my blog name...)
Spiderman 3 came out last weekend. I was tempted to see the midnight show on May 3rd, but was having a hard time imagining being able to function well the next day on 4 hours of sleep. I was anxious to see the movie in IMAX for the first time, but unbeknownst to me, there are even greater Spiderman fans out there who bought up all the tickets to the IMAX shows...all day, every show! I settled for a "regular" ticket and throughly enjoyed the show.
A main theme throughout this movie is Spidermans wrestling with the dark side of his costume. It is an easy analogy to the sin nature that we fight all the time. The lure of the dark side is tempting and fun. There is always a price to pay however, and even Spiderman realizes that. As the movie progresses, Peter Parker learns about forgiveness and making right choices.
Without giving too much away, I found it interesting that when Spiderman finally realizes that the dark side of his costume has begun to consume as well as tempt him, he finds release from that struggle in a church. The scene opens with a close up of a cross and Spidey stuck to the side of the steeple. He eventually wrestles free from the black costume, (and oh what a struggle it is, sound familiar?) comes to his senses and starts to makes the right choices.
Was director Sam Raimi intentional with his "theology"? I'm not sure, but I do find it interesting that when the whole good vs. evil is shown in a movie, often it ties in with Christian sub-themes. Enjoy the show if you get a chance to see it and let me know what you think!
espidey (in case you didn't get it from my blog name...)
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